Rules for Manx

Family: Spider
Categories: Large, New
Variants: Tabby Cat
Also Known As:

For once we can speak about a game with complete authority, because we modestly confess that we invented Manx and its close variant Tabby Cat. They are reminiscent of Miss Milligan, and have the qualities we value most in any solitaire: you can’t lose too quickly, and you can win frequently if you play well. The two games are identical except for the rule of the tail; Manx is the harder-to-win version.

Layout

Manx features four tableaus, four discard piles, and a special pile called the tail. Begin by shuffling the deck and laying out four cards, one in each tableau.

Play

Tableaus build down without regard for suit or color, and building is circular so that King may be played on Ace. Full or partial builds are available, and an empty tableau may be filled with anything available.

If the tail is empty, the topmost card of any tableau may be moved to it. The card in the tail may not be returned to play until you can correctly build it back onto a tableau.

Dealing

Whenever you wish, deal four more cards from the hand, one onto each tableau pile. Usually you will deal when you have run out of other moves.

Goal

An available build of thirteen cards beginning with the King and descending in order to the Ace may be moved to an empty discard pile. The goal is to fill all four discard piles, leaving the deck, tableaus, and tail empty.

Tips

Empty piles are precious. The more empty piles you can create and keep, the better. One or two long, tangled piles are okay if they help you empty out other piles.

Never move a card to the tail unless you already know how you’re going to move it back into the tableau. The tail is too important a resource to waste, and a foolish move may leave a card marooned there, blocking its further use.

Make long builds out of short ones. Remember that a singleton card (one that’s not part of a build) can be moved to the tail, but a build can’t. A singleton and a long build are better than two short builds.